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AAS Council has formally endorsed the Inclusive Astronomy Vision Statement below, and has endorsed the use of this wiki as a mechanism for the community to engage with te recommendations. See: https://aas.org/media/press-releases/aas-endorses-vision-statement-inclusive-astronomy

Executive Summary

In June 2015, 160 astronomers, sociologists, policy makers and community leaders convened the first Inclusive Astronomy meeting at Vanderbilt University, in Nashville, TN. The goal of this meeting was to discuss the issues affecting people of color; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, genderqueer/genderfluid, agender, intersex, queer, questioning, or asexual (LGBTIQA*) people; people with disabilities; women; and everyone who holds more than one of these underrepresented identities in the astronomical community. A key focus of this meeting was examination of issues of intersectionality: the well-established conceptualization that racism, sexism, heterosexism, transphobia, and ableism are often linked (e.g., that women of color are faced with the intersection of racism and sexism).

The following recommendations emerged as some of the first steps towards our shared goals, through the synthesis of prior work1 ,2 ,3 ,4 . Women of color in astronomy and astrophysics. Seeking Solutions: Maximizing American Talent by Advancing Women of Color in Academia, National Academies Press, Washington D.C. , input from community members, consultation with expert practitioners, and discussions and workshops during the conference itself. All guidelines and recommendations in this document should be interpreted in a way that benefits historically underrepresented groups.

The recommendations presented here cover the four broad topical areas that the conference addressed, namely:

1) Removing barriers to access - This topical area addresses academic barriers to educational access, such as the use of GRE scores in admissions decisions, financial barriers to graduate school application, stereotype threat, and accessibility issues that impede the ability of all students to directly participate in learning environments.

2.) Creating inclusive climates - In order to maintain diversity at astronomical institutions, it is necessary that the environment be inclusive. This topical area addresses microaggressions, how to honor diversity without tokenization, effective and accessible teaching methods, and effective mentoring.

3.) Improving inclusion and access to power, policy, and leadership - This topical area provides astronomers with strategies on how to play a role in decisions affecting the astronomical community and how people in power can be more inclusive in their decision making.

4.) Establishing a community of inclusive practice - This topical area provides techniques for astronomers to take active rather than passive measures to ensure that their groups, events and institutions are inclusive.

This is a living document. This set of recommendations was compiled as a product of the inaugural Inclusive Astronomy meeting, and builds upon numerous concurrent sets of recommendations1 ,2 ,2 ,4 These recommendations are imperfect and incomplete, and should continue to be expanded, revised, and critiqued with significant input from the astronomical community, especially the marginalized groups mentioned above, ideally at future Inclusive Astronomy meetings. The goal is to act as a roadmap for equity and inclusion in astronomy.

How to engage with this document: The recommendations are described in increasing detail as one proceeds through the document. Below we list the codes used to identify key participants/stakeholders affected by each recommendation and the estimated timescale for implementing them. Summary tables describing each recommendation in addition to their intended goals are listed and are broken down by implementation timescale. These summaries are intended to inform the overall “spirit” of the recommendations for a given topical area. Immediately following are specific, actionable recommendations that undergird the summary tables, which are designed for implementation by a variety of stakeholders on the prescribed timescales.

Acknowledgements

The organizers of the inaugural Inclusive Astronomy conference wish to acknowledge generous financial support from the National Science Foundation, the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Associated Universities Inc., the American Astronomical Society, Vanderbilt University, and the Fisk-Vanderbilt Masters-to-PhD Bridge Program. Furthermore, we wish to thank those involved at every level of conception, planning and execution of the conference and these recommendations.

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Vision Statement

Statement of the problem

The demographics of our nation are changing, but professional Astronomy is not keeping pace. Only 2.1% of astronomers identify as Black or African-American and 3.2% as Hispanic, Latina/o, or of Spanish origin and extremely few are Native or indigenous (AIP, 2014). Disappointingly, these numbers for Physics and Astronomy have remained essentially constant between 2004 and 2012. This underrepresentation is most acute in leadership roles and on the key committees that shape the future of our field.

This underrepresentation for people of color is reminiscent of that experienced by women in decades past, and this gives cause for hope. White women have made great progress in Astronomy since the 1992 Baltimore Charter5 , owing in large part to the courageous leadership of those women and their allies who rallied the community and organized action, including the 1992 Baltimore Women in Astronomy meeting, the 2003 Pasadena Women in Astronomy II meeting, and the 2009 Goddard Women in Astronomy meeting. While the accomplishments of women continue to be systematically undervalued and they remain underrepresented in senior leadership positions, the gains made over the past 25 years served as inspiration for an inaugural Inclusive Astronomy 2015 meeting in Nashville, focusing not only on women but on all underrepresented individuals.
There is little data published on people with disabilities or lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, genderqueer/genderfluid, agender, intersex, queer, questioning, or asexual (LGBTIQA*) individuals in Astronomy, but studies in other STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields point to negative experiences and outcomes for these groups. In one study, LGBT professionals in STEM and military-related federal agencies were found to be more underrepresented and report more negative outcomes in workplace experience than those in non-STEM agencies, despite federal protections and formalized advancement procedures. LGBTIQA* scientists are far less likely to be open about their sexual and gender orientation than in the wider population, a situation linked to higher rates of anxiety, depression, and burnout,. White women have made great progress in Astronomy since the 1992 Baltimore Charter, but their accomplishments are systematically undervalued, and they are still underrepresented in senior leadership.

Much of the work toward equity and inclusion in Astronomy has focused on single dimensions of identity. However, a one-dimensional approach leaves behind people with more than one marginalized identity. Intersectionality6 is the well-established concept that different forms of discrimination intersect for people with multiple marginalized identities; identity and oppression are matrices, not scalars. But the significant underrepresentation of individuals with particular intersectional identities can magnify marginalization with the additional challenges of isolation and lack of common voices for advocacy. For example, in 2012, there were fewer than 75 faculty members in Physics or Astronomy in the United States who are both female and African-American or Hispanic7 .

There are little data available on the numbers or experiences of persons with disabilities in astronomy, but anecdotal reports make clear that people with disabilities still experience significant lack of access to both physical spaces and to the tools of the profession. Similarly, there are little data published on LGBTIQA*8 individuals in Astronomy, but studies in other STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields point out negative experiences and outcomes for these groups. In one study, LGBT professionals in STEM and military-related federal agencies were found to be more underrepresented and report more negative outcomes in workplace experience than those in non-STEM agencies, despite federal protections and formalized advancement procedures9 . LGBTIQA* scientists are far less likely to be open about their sexual and gender orientation than are individuals in the wider population, a situation linked to higher rates of anxiety, depression, and burnout10 ,11 . Asian Americans in Astronomy are often overlooked in discussions of inclusivity, but data highlight pervasive stereotyping and reveal that Asian Americans are disproportionately excluded from leadership positions12
.
As these examples suggest, the ongoing underrepresentation of individuals from various groups is not just a problem of experiences and barriers within our profession. We live in societies that host systemic biases and power differences based on race, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability status, and class. As we work for equity and inclusion in our field, we cannot ignore the broader society and the negative impacts it produces on current and potential colleagues from historically marginalized groups. We can repair the “leaky pipeline” within our profession only by also understanding the broader society within which our profession operates, the lived experiences of our students and colleagues when they are “out in the world”, and the biases that we all bring with us from the broader society into the places where astronomers work and learn. Indeed, most astronomers who are some combination of female, LGBTIQA*, disabled, or a person of color, can tell stories of overt discrimination, microaggressions, and hostile climate; the literature tells that same story 13 ,14 ,15 ,16 ,17 ,18 The situation is clear: Astronomy must become more inclusive.

Creating a more inclusive field is not just the right thing to do: The current lack of diversity and inclusivity within Astronomy harms our profession. Research shows that diversity leads to greater innovation, more creative thinking, and higher quality science19 ,20 ,21 ,22 ,23 . The breadth of knowledge and experience brought by people of color, women, LGBTIQA* people, people with disabilities, other traditionally marginalized individuals - and most particularly, anyone who shares more than one of these identities - is necessary to achieve our full potential for discovery and exploration, and to recruit and retain the many creative minds we need to solve fundamental questions about the Universe. Making Astronomy more inclusive and thus diverse is also necessary for maintaining the appreciation of our field by the increasingly diverse public who fund our exploration.

Our vision: Astronomy can and must become inclusive.

We believe that people of all races, genders, sexual orientations, and physical abilities are capable of doing excellent science and shaping the future of our discipline. We know that identity is intersectional, and we see connections among barriers facing communities of color, women, people with disabilities, and LGBTIQA* people in science. We believe in equal opportunity. We share a vision of a more inclusive, more productive profession. We know that true inclusion and diversity require hard work from individual astronomers, organizations, and our profession as a whole to re-examine our professional culture, modify our existing practices, and remove barriers to inclusion. We assert that progress can and should be measured, and should be pursued with the same zeal as other strategic scientific goals. We have faith that we all - as colleagues and as a profession - can learn and improve.

We invite all to join in the hard work of creating an Inclusive Astronomy by endorsing this vision and by committing to implement the Nashville Recommendations for Inclusive Astronomy.

A Pathway to Endorsement

The Inclusive Astronomy recommendations represent a suite of principles, policies and actions that are meant to transform our community into one that is truly inclusive and diverse. Because these recommendations vary in scale, scope and target, we recommend the following steps be taken toward community and institutional endorsement and implementation of those specific recommendations deemed most appropriate by a given institution or entity:

• AAS endorses the Inclusive Astronomy vision statement, and encourages the astronomical community to review the full set of Nashville Recommendations and to create implementation plans as appropriate at relevant institutional levels.
• AAS provides an online framework to host the recommendations, findings, institutional commitments, and accomplishment of those commitments, to be managed jointly by members of the Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy (CSWA), Committee on the Status of Minorities in Astronomy (CSMA), Committee on Sexual-orientation and Gender Minorities in Astronomy (SGMA), and the Working Group on Accessibility and Disability (WGAD).
• Following the AAS creation of online platform above, individual institutions and organizations use the online platform to publicly endorse the Inclusive Astronomy vision statement and to commit to specific short-term, medium-term, and long-term recommendations most relevant to each organization or institution.
• Institutions commit to regularly report back to the community, including actions taken, status of plans, and pathways for successful implementation. These updates should be shared via the AAS online framework (see #2 above).
• AAS and its Committees (CSWA, CSMA, SGMA and WGAD) establish a site visit program for participating institutions to voluntarily and confidentially assess implementation of inclusivity plans and identify areas where further work is needed.
• AAS supports sessions at its annual meetings to further develop recommendations and assessments, and to share experiences of implementation.
• National Research Council (NRC) inclusively empanels diverse individuals — including individuals with appropriate expertise in diversity and inclusions issues — for the 2020 Decadal Survey. The community develops recommendations (i.e., not merely findings as in previous decadal surveys) for inclusion in the 2020 Decadal Survey that address needed policies, funding, and ways to increase diversity at leadership levels, that can be acted upon by policy makers and funding agencies.

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Recommendations Summary Tables

Scope of implementation
Short Term is 1-3 years.
Medium Term is 3-5 years.
Long-term is more than 5 years.

Removing Barriers to Access: Recommendations Summary Table

Context: must enable people to enter the field so that we can then support, mentor and promote them within the inclusive environments that we create, and into the leadership and power structures of the field. Our ultimate goal is a fully inclusive field. This is necessary but not sufficient: removing the barriers to access will not by itself create an inclusive environment; we also need to change the culture of our field and making sure that people with marginalized identities are included in our field’s leadership. The following table summarizes the full recommendations.
Core Goals:

1. Make graduate admissions fair.
2. Eliminate barriers in pre-/early-college access to astronomy.
3. Eliminate practices in hiring and promotion that are discriminatory.
4. Ensure that astronomical institutions, facilities and data are accessible to all.

Creating Inclusive Environments: Recommendations Summary Table

Context: It is essential that the places we work and interact are spaces that are inclusive of a broad range of ideas, identities and abilities. This includes the social ecosystem - eliminating discrimination and harassment and assuring inclusivity and healthy work-life balance - and the physical ecosystem - making sure all facilities are accessible to all people. An inclusive environment includes a framework for support, through mentoring, networking and education.
Core Recommendations:

1. End harassment in and around astronomical workplaces.
2. Ensure access to quality, affordable health care.
3. Facilitate work-life balance, family friendly policies, and a welcoming environment.
4. Establish robust data collection and reporting to assess and monitor progress, and ensure that those procedures are inclusive.
5. Provide effective mentoring and networking opportunities.
6. Adopt teaching practices that support marginalized students.

Because of the large number of specific, granular recommendations received in this area, the table below does not represent a prioritized or comprehensive summary of the recommendations but rather a representative preview of the full recommendations presented later in this report.

Inclusion and Access to Power, Policy, and Leadership: Recommendations Summary Table

Context: An inclusive community requires inclusive leadership, with decision-making roles open and available to anyone interested in pursuing these roles. Informing the community of leadership opportunities, responsibilities and expectations, in addition to making leadership roles accessible makes for both an inclusive culture and more effective leadership structures.

1. Inclusive Diversity (gender, ethnic, racial, geographical, institutional, etc.) should be made a priority (not just a goal) in all areas of policy making and leadership roles throughout the astronomy community.
2. Future decadal surveys should address concerns of diversity in participation, leadership and policy making as part of recommended actions.
3. Funding (e.g., grants) should also be tied to metrics and progress on the inclusion of underrepresented, under-resourced and disenfranchised groups.
4. Astronomical researchers should acknowledge the responsibility to be ‘good citizens’ in areas where research intersects concerns in the larger society.

Establishing a Community of Inclusive Practice: Recommendations Summary Table

Context: Developing and maintaining an inclusive community of astronomy requires a sustained practice of education, engagement and action, and hence establishing a community of inclusive practice. This includes understanding the history of oppression against marginalized groups in your culture, learning about best practices to discuss and confront discriminatory behavior, practicing active allyship, and establishing mechanisms of accountability. Establishing inclusivity plans for your organization is an example of inclusivity practice.

1. Learn about the history of oppression against marginalized groups in your own culture and the culture you are in (they may not be the same).
2. Practice active allyship.
3. Learn and use best practices for discussing racism and its intersections.
4. Understand and reduce the negative impact of power imbalances.
5. Implement accountability practices, and respond promptly when astronomers engage in racism, sexism, heterosexism, cissexism, and ableism.
6. Perform self-audits on equity, inclusion, and accessibility and develop short-term and long-term institutional plans.

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Bibliography

• The Baltimore Charter for Women in Astronomy, 1991. Available online at http://www.stsci.edu/stsci/meetings/WiA/BaltoCharter.html

• Brown, L. 2015. The best advocates for people with disabilities. Available online at http://www.autistichoya.com/2015/06/the-best-advocates.html

• Equity Now: The Pasadena Recommendations for Gender Equality in Astronomy, 2003. Available online at http://www.aas.org/cswa/Equity_Now_Pasadena.pdf

• lgbt+physicists and AAS Working Group on LGBTIQ Equality, 2014, Supporting LGBT+ Physicists & Astronomers: Best Practices for Academic Departments. Available online at http://lgbtphysicists.org/files/BestPracticesGuide.pdf

• Norman, D., Isler, J., Oluseyi, H., Morrison, N., Simpson, C., & Trouille, L., 2012, Women of Color in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Available online at http://sites.nas.edu/wocconference/files/2012/03/6.3.-American-Astronomical-Society.pdf

• T. Finch (2012) Joint Annual Black/Hispanic Physicists Conference Draws Hundreds, Gets Positive Reviews. DiverseScholar 3:10 http://www.minoritypostdoc.org/view/2012-3-10-finch-NSBP.html

Additional Resources

Astronomy Community Resources

• An up-to-date list of GRE requirements by institution: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19UhYToXOPZkZ3CM469ru3Uwk4584CmzZyAVVwQJJcyc/edit#gid=0
• IA 2015 conference website: https://vanderbilt.irisregistration.com/Home/Site?code=InclusiveAstronomy2015
• Astrobetter diversity resources: http://www.astrobetter.com/wiki/Diversity
• Astronomy in color blog: http://astronomyincolor.blogspot.com
• Women in astronomy blog: http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com
• Women of Color in Astronomy and Astrophysics

Policy Recommendations and Best Practices

• Baltimore Charter
• Pasadena Recommendations
• Presumed Incompetent has a detailed set of recommendations in one of the final chapters
• Supporting LGBT+ Physicists and Astronomers: Best Practices for Academic Departments (Suggestions from this doc are marked with asterisks.)
• From College to Careers: Fostering Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in STEM
• Accommodating Students with Disabilities in STEM: Finding from Research and Practice for Middle Grades through University Education
• CSMA recommendations for addressing financial cost of graduate applications
• “Lessons from the Experiences of Women of Color Working in Academia,” by Yolanda Flores Niemann, Presumed Incompetent: The Intersections of Race and Class for Women in Academia, edited by Gabriella Gutiérrez y Muhs, Yolanda Flores Niemann, Carmen G. Gonzáles, and Angela P. Harris

Diversity Stakeholders / Communities of Support

• AAS Committee on the Status of Minorities in Astronomy (CSMA): https://csma.aas.org
• AAS Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy (CSWA): https://cswa.aas.org
• AAS Committee for Sexual-Orientation and Gender Minorities in Astronomy (SGMA): https://sgma.aas.org
• AAS Working Group on Accessibility and Disability (WGAD): https://wgad.aas.org
• National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP): http://nsbp.org
• National Society of Hispanic Physicists (NSHP): http://www.hispanicphysicists.org
• SACNAS (Advancing Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science): http://sacnas.org
• List of diversity academic/STEM 501c3 organizations & recurring annual conferences from Minority Postdoc http://www.minoritypostdoc.org/view/stakeholders.html

Data and Research

• NSF demographic data tables http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/2015/nsf15311/tables.cfm

Additional Resources

• Definitions of common terms from Suffolk University's Social Justice Terminology: http://www.suffolk.edu/campuslife/27883.php

Appendix: Common Acronyms

AAS: American Astronomical Society
AISES: American Indian Science and Engineering Society
APS: American Physical Society
CSMA: AAS Committee on the Status of Minorities in Astronomy
CSWA: AAS Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy
GRE: Graduate Record Exam
HBCU: Historically Black Colleges and Universities
HSI: Hispanic-serving Institution
LGBTIQA*: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Questioning, Agender, and other gender identities
MSI: Minority Serving Institution
NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NSBP: National Society of Black Physicists
NSHP: National Society of Hispanic Physicists
NSF: National Science Foundation
POC: People/Person of Color
SGMA: AAS Committee for Sexual-Orientation and Gender Minorities (formerly WGLE)
TCU: Tribal Colleges and Universities
TWI: Traditionally White Institutions
WGLE: Working Group on LGBTIQ Equality (2012-2015.  Replaced by SGMA in 2015)

Footnotes

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